The ad-hoc committee chief of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Nazmul Hasan Papon weighed down his possible BCB presidency election opponent Saber Hossain Chowdhury at an Abahani Ltd board meeting on Monday.
Saber had asked the director in charge of the club, Kazi Shahed Ahmed, to arrange the meeting which was attended by 18 Abahani directors. At the meeting – the first since 2010 – Nazmul and Shayan F Rahman were named the two councilors for the club for the upcoming BCB election.
Customarily, the process of naming councilors involves the cricket committee making nominations which then have to be approved by the director in charge and chairman and this is the first time that councilors have been finalised at a board meeting.
Kazi Shahed Ahmed revealed that the cricket committee of the club has opted for Papon and Shayan as the councilors of the club. “Over the years, we have followed the custom of nominating the councilors from the recommendation of the cricket committee, but this time, we have discussed the matter at the meeting. It has never happened before. We unanimously recommended Nazmul Hasan Papon and Shayan F Rahman as the two councilors,” he said.
Golam Rabbani Helal, one of directors of the club, thought the meeting had been unnecessary. “It’s never happened before and I think it was not required now. All of the present directors supported Papon and Shayan for councilors, nobody supported Saber,” said Helal.
However, Saber thought the meeting was a significant one. “I wanted to have the meeting to assemble the Abahani directors together and get some momentum over the proposed sports complex development. I think it was a good one,” said Saber.
It was Saber’s first appearance at the club since 1997. “I am one of the three founding directors of Abahani Ltd. I don’t have to show and tell that I am of Abahani. My bond to the club goes without saying,” he explained.
